Carolina Hurricanes vs Nashville Predators Match Player Stats On May 23, 2021

Luke Kunin scored his second goal of the game at 16:10 of the second overtime as the Nashville Predators defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 Sunday afternoon to even their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series at two games apiece.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Ryan Johansen and Nick Cousins also scored for Nashville, which won both of its home games in double overtime. Goaltender Juuse Saros made 58 saves to break the franchise playoff record he set two days earlier.

Brock McGinn scored twice for Carolina and Vincent Trocheck also tallied. Rookie goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 39 shots.

The winning goal came after Nashville's Calle Jarnkrok sent the puck behind the Carolina net. Mikael Granlund gained possession in the left-wing corner and passed to Kunin, who was skating into the slot after stopping at the bench to pick up a new stick after his was broken at center ice. Kunin put a one-timer just inside the left post to win it.

McGinn gave the Hurricanes their first lead, 3-2, just 13 seconds into the third period. He picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired a wrist shot, while falling to the ice, over Saros.

Cousins tied it at 3-3 with a power-play goal at 3:15 of the third, deflecting Erik Haula's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Nedeljkovic.

The first period ended 1-1 and it was 2-2 after the second, despite Nashville scoring first in both.

Kunin opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the game. He took a pass from Ryan Ellis and skated the puck over the blue line before dropping it off to Granlund. The puck squirted free and continued toward the net, where Kunin regained possession and scored on a backhander from the top of the crease.

Trocheck tied it at 18:03, tipping the puck over the goal line after Martin Necas' shot was slowly sliding toward the net.

The Predators regained the lead at 4:53 of the second. Nedeljkovic stopped a shot from the point but was unable to smother the rebound and Johansen found the puck and scored from the slot.

McGinn tied the score at 2-2 at 18:05 of the second on a slap shot from the far edge of the left faceoff circle that made its way through a screen and caromed off the inside of the far post.

--Field Level Media